OAKLAND – Andrew Bogut was looking forward to his return to Oracle Arena on Wednesday night and the prospect of a positive reception for both himself and Harrison Barnes, despite being dressed as Dallas Mavericks.

“I think it’ll be good for the most part until the ball gets thrown up,” Bogut said. “Then hopefully we get booed like everybody else.”

After an 0-5 start, the Mavs had been on a roll with pair of victories heading into their game against the Warriors. Just as significant, Barnes and Bogut were the primary reasons Dallas beat Milwaukee and the Los Angeles Lakers in back-to-back games.

Alas, after playing 29 minutes on Tuesday, Bogut was given the night off to rest and only took the court for pregame introductions, which were long, loud and full of love for the two former four-year fixtures. Barnes matched his Oracle best of 25 points, hitting 8 of 20 shots, but the Warriors swamped the Mavs from the outset, winning 116–95.

Barnes arrived at Oracle coming off scoring games of 34 and 31 points, the former a career high, while Bogut has been doing pretty much what he did as a Warrior – rebounding, defending the paint with a physical bent and setting screens for Curry, only in this case Stephen Curry’s little brother Seth.

Both players seemed to be in good spirits coming back to Oakland, even if only one of them was playing..

“It’s strange,” Bogut said. “Obviously I played here for four years, so whenever you change teams, that first time back is always a bit of a circus. This is no different. I have a lot of good memories here, obviously a championship. It’s one of those things. It’s a funny, fickle league and you just have to move on and readjust with a new team.”

Barnes, meanwhile, was clearly excited about wanting to show off his blossoming offensive game. He is averaging 22.3 points, well above the 11.7 he posted last season, which was his highest scoring average as a Warrior.

“I wouldn’t say it feels weird,” Barnes said. “There are a lot of positive memories. I think when I came back here with the USA team, that was kind of like the first time when you had the jitters and it was different. Beyond that, I don’t really go down memory lane too much.

“I’m looking forward to the challenge, actually. The crowd’s always great, so it’s going to be fun.”

Bogut said Barnes is playing better than he’s ever seen him and that he is flourishing as a go-to guy.

“He’s the No. 1 or No. 2 option, it’s as simple as that,” Bogut said. “He’s getting volume touches. He’s a player who’s gotten confidence from coach saying, `Hey, we’re riding with you if you go 10 for 20 or you’re 1 for 20, you’re still going to get that 21st shot.’ When you get that confidence from your coach and your organization, it changes your mindset. He’s our No. 1 option right now, and he’s playing phenomenal.”

After being the fourth or fifth scoring option on the Warriors, Barnes admitted it’s been a bit of an adjustment being expected to score, but a welcome one.

“It’s different, and the challenge is definitely a lot bigger,’ he said. “You have to be ready to go every single night, but it’s great. There are a lot more opportunities for me. The big thing is trying to put games in the win column. We struggled with that the first five games, but I think we found something the last two games and we want to continue to build off of it.”

Dallas coach Rick Carlisle was full of praise for the two ex-Warriors, and said it was something of a nice reward for them to get a rousing reception on their old home court.

“(Barnes) is playing terrific,” Carlisle said. “The thing I love most about him from a coaching standpoint is he’s everything you want in a foundation piece for a franchise. He lives in the gym, he wants to be really, really good. He studies the game, he takes care of himself. And I know people here have a great appreciation for both him and Andrew. Andrew’s put together monster games the last two, you look at his plus-minus numbers, he’s been a real difference-maker in our two wins. So these guys have been two extremely important pieces for us as we work to get things together.”

It wouldn’t be Bogut, though, if he didn’t create a bit of a media stir before his arrival. In an interview with USA TODAY Tuesday, the 7-foot center was asked about an anonymous quote in which his durability and dependability as a Warrior were questioned.and he responded, “The same people who made those comments will see me tomorrow and shake my hand and ask me how my family is. This league is full of people who are full of (expletive) and shallow, and that’s what you figure out in pro sports.”

Bogut clarified that he wasn’t directing his dissatisfaction to anyone specifically in the Warriors organization. He doesn’t know where the comments came from, and that’s what bothers him.

“The quote was directly related in general to anonymous sources around the league, not so much to do whether it was the Warriors or whoever,” he said before Wednesday’s game. “If you’re not going to put your name to a quote, don’t be quoted. I know for a fact that people in this league will be those anonymous sources, and it could be people who are on your staff. Then they look you in the eye and act like you’re best friends, ask you, `How’s the family, how’s the kid, is everything good?’ It’s more related to that. It’s just the business we’re in. There’s so much money involved, and so much at stake, it’s disappointing. But I expect that. I just call it as I see it. You can’t change it. It’s just always going to be like that, but just put your name to it.”

The Warriors game was Bogut’s first absence of the year, and he’s been healthy, averaging 25 minutes a game to along with 10.8 rebounds and 3.7 points. He’s starting to get acclimated, just like Barnes, and effectively starting from a position he did when he arrived with Golden State in 2012 after a trade from Milwaukee. He hopes the Mavs can achieve some of the same heights with time.

“The bar is set a lot lower for us with what you’re trying to accomplish,” he said. :The goal for us is just make the playoffs, which would be huge whereas it would be a letdown just making the playoffs with Golden State. It’s a different beast. It’s a development type team right now. But we’re playing to win, and I’ve enjoyed it so far.”

Carl Steward has been a sportswriter for Bay Area News Group newspapers for more than 40 years, covering all manner of sports as a beat writer, columnist and jack-of-all-trades reporter. He has covered numerous Super Bowls, World Series, major golf tournaments and even did turns covering horse racing's Triple Crown and soccer's World Cup. He has also written the popular light-hearted "Darting Here and There" column for many years.

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